Hair treating apparatus



, Jan. 5, 1932. GAlRE 1,839,754

HAIR TREATING APPARATUS Filed March 4, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 dWo wwq Jan. 5, 1932. P. E. GAIRE HAIR TREATING APPARATUS gwuenkw 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 F1166} March 4, 1931 to assist in a Patented Jan. 5, 1932 f;

UNiT P TEN OFFICE raunnnmnnn GAIRE, or nnw YORK, a Y.

m n 'rnnArme'nrrAnATUs Applicationfiled March 4, 1931. Serial-No. 520,079.

' This invention'is directed to animproveoutlets, any one-r more of whichmay be I I ment in hair treating machines, and particuused by the'operator for directly delivering larly permanent hairwaving, wherein the a stream of'cool air on the head of the treating element is steam. p ent at any desired point.

5 In the use of a machine of this type, the The invention is illustrated in the accomstrand of hair held on a curling pin within panyin'g'drawings,-wherein:- a treating box is subjected at the willof the Figure '1- is a perspective view of the imoperator to a treatment'by steam admitted proved apparatus, the door of the casing to the box, audit is of the utmost'primary proper being shown open.

importance that this steam be delivered to Figure 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of '60 the box in as dry a condition as possible to Fig. 1. 1 avoid and tendency of condensation reach- FigureS is a broken perspective of the ing the head of the patient, with consequent steam container illustrating more particu liability to, serious discomfort and liability larly the means for supporting the flexible V 15 to scalds or burns. H conduits when not in use. An essential characteristic of the present Figure 4. isaperspective view of a detail invention resides in the means to render the showing one of the conduits supported in steam as dryeaspossible' before delivery to inoperative position.

the boxes, and to take care that any inter- Figure 5 isiaverticalsectional view partly 20 mediate condensation will not reach the boxes in elevation of the improved apparatus.

in such form but is led off and trapped ata Figure 6 an enlarged section on the line intermediate point. 66 of Figure 5.

provision of. a cabinet which, in addition to through the air container.

25 being attractive; and concealing the neces- The improved apparatus includes a casing 7 sary operative parts from the eye of ,the 1 designed more particularly to house the oppatient, is further so constructed as to insure crating parts and conceal them from the view a considerable length of travel of the steam of the customer. As the casing effectively following its eneration and prior to its use conceals all operating parts, and by reason v lrying'efl'ect of the steaman'd of the arrangement of the parts may conthe return of any initial condensation to veniently be of relatively small diameter, the generator. though necessarily of considerable length, it

A further object of the invention is the follows that the casingmay be made highly provision of a steam container, from'which ornamental and attractive, and thus of itself the flexible conduits lead to the hair treatfurnish a desirable, rather than an undesiring boxes, the relation of the container and able, piece of furniture in an establishment cenduits being such hat the inlets tothe devoted to hair treating. conduits from the container are materially The casing 1 is made up of a section 2 of above the lower interior surface of'the conhollow form, and preferably, though not'necy tainer, withsuchlower portion of the conessarily,provided with supporting legs 3. tainer in open communication with a trap The bodysection l of considerable lengthis connection, whereby the water of condensaformed at'its lower end to fit over the upper tion is collected below possible delivery to end of the base section 2, ahollow elongated the conduits and continuously drained off upper orjdome section 5 being connected to through the trap.v e theupper end of thebody section 4 by an an-' A further object of the invention is' the nular'band connector 6. The various secutilizationof' air under pressure for mintionsiof the casing are designed for removgling with andassisting in the delivery of able inter-fitting connection one with the the steam. to the hair treatingboxes, the air other,to thereby provide" for their convenient A further'object of the invention is the Figure 7' is abroken longitudinal section pipe being provided-with a series of selected separation when desirable, and the body section 4 is provided with a door 7 for closing an opening in such body section through which the operative parts of the apparatus are readily accessible. Supported in the base section 2 is a fan 8, or other conventional means for delivering air underpressure, an electrically operated motor 9 being also sup ported in the base section and coupled directly or indirectly for the operation of the fan.

A steam pipe 10 extends longitudinally of the dome 5 and body section 4 ofthe casing, there being removably securedto the lower end of the steam pipe a steam generator in the form of a vessel 1}. having a diameter somewhat less than that of the body section. Tliewgeneratdrr is designedto contain water to'be 'lreated" for the generation of steam, a gauge 12'beingc'onnected with the generator proper to permit convenient determination of the water level'therein.

A two-stage electric heater 13 having independent heat generatingelements14 and 15 of respectivelydifierent heating effects is sup ported within the generator near the bottom thereof, there being supported on the upper end or cover 16 of the generator a coil 17 with conventional connections to the heating elements 14 and 15 sothatrselectively either or'bothsaid elements may be energized. The primary of the coil is controlled through leads 18. and the secondary circuits to the respective heatingelements arealso wrapped in the same lead and selectively governed. through a, switch l9, whereby the heating of either or both of the heating elements maybe carried out at will, for the heating of the water in the generator and the subsequent generation offsteam which is to be freely delivered through the pipe 10. A lead 20 is connected through the same switch 19 and serves to energize motor 9. A service conductor 21 is connected with any socket or otherwise with the source of electricity leading through the coupling section of the casing to the switch 19. Y c r Thus, at willthe motor may be energized and the fan or other blower operated, while water in the steam generator is subjected to a selected degree of heat for the generation of'ste'am, the variation in the heat degree provided being utilized to produce steam in larger volume and more quickly under the maximum heat than'under the minimum heat in order that a requisite quantity of steam for the particular hair treating operation being carried out may be conveniently pro vided.

An air pipe 22 leads through the top of the domer5 and extends vertically of the casing 1,terminatingimmediately above the steam generator 11, where, through the medium of aflexible pipe 23, such pipe 22 is placed in open communication with the fan or other pressure generator'S.

Steain pipelO immediately beyond the upper end of the dome is extended laterally at 24, the air pipe 22 being also extended laterally in the section 25 which is preferably arranged in spaced parallel relation with the steam pipe 24. A manually operable valve 26 is arranged to control at all times the admission of air, both in quantity and pressure, to the'section 25, it being understood, however, that the steam pipe 24 is at all times fully and completely open to the steam pipe 10, though obviously a suitable valve control may be provided, if desired.

The steam pipe section 24 and the air pipe section 25 are terminally connected by a coupling 27 of T-form, inthe lower end of which the steam pipe section leads and into the upper or' head end of which the air pipe section leads. The coupling is connected at the head end, that is, in substantial alignment with the air pipe sectionv 25 with what may be termed a steam container 28; the end of which remote from the coupling is closed by a'removable cap 29. Preferably, the air pipe section 25 is of somewhat lessdiameter than that of the steam pipe section 24 and the head of the coupling 27 is of a diameter corresponding to that of the air pipe section, to thereby-facilitate a free delivery of steam and the mingling therewith of air under pressure, with the latter augmented by the reduction in bore of the parts to-which it is delivered.

The steam container 28, however, is of increased bore as compared with either the steam pipesection or air pipe section, and an important detail in connection with this steam container is the fact that it is so connected to the coupling 27 astoincline downwardly from it's free'end toward the coupling to a. degree suflicient 'to at least compel a pronounced gravital flow of any water, and particularly water of condensation, that may fromtime to time be present in such steam container. The extreme lower end of the coupling 27 is provided with a restricted pipe 30 in open communication with the coupling and formed to provide a trap 31 and to be terminally arranged beyond the trap for connection, if desired, with any, conduit for carrying away the water of condensation, as will later ap- Pear.

The steam container 28 is provided with a plurality of nipples 32 and 33 in alternate longitudinal series, with such nipples depending from the steam container in downwardly divergent rows, and terminally formed beyondthe container for the reception of the-ends of flexible conduits 34 which lead, in awell understood 1nanner,to theboxes in which the hair being treatedis: confined. The conduits 34 are designed, ofcourse, for removable connect-ion with nipples projecting 7 from the boxes, though as the boxes and their (3011119 ClllOI lSlZlIOIIl no part of the present invention, illustration or detailed description of such are unnecessary; V: V

, An important'feature of the-nipples 32 and 33 is that they are designed to bethreaded into the steam container to a degreeto permit their inner or inlet ends to be arranged substantially in the axial line of the container, that is, wellabove the lower, surface, to thereby provide a-eonsiderablearea in such container whichis open to the collection of Water. of condensation, while disposing, the inlet ends of the nippleswell abovetheflevel of such Water ofcondensation. I Y,

The steam container ispreferably provided with laterally extending Jplates35 having edge notches 36 in which the nipples 37 on the box-engaging ends'of the conduits 34 may be conveniently held so as to supportthe series of conduits in a conveniently accessible position, and yet entirely out of the way when not in use.

The air pipe 22 preferably-immediately above its juncture with the flexible air pipe 23 is in open connnunication with a series'of laterally extending tubes, which leadin opposite directions through" the walls of the body 4 of the-casing, and are connected-beyond such body to flexible conduits 39 terminating preferably'in nipples 40 corresponding in all respects to'lthe nipples37 on the ends of the conduits 34.

In use, after the hairfstrandshave been properly placed in the boxes, orduring such operation, the switch 19 isoperated to generate steam in the quantity and to the extent desired by the selected energization of the heaters 14 and 15, and following the generation of steam the motor is energized to create a volume of air under pressure for delivery, to the extent permitted, past the valve 26. The air under pressure mingling with the steam delivered through the steam pipe 24 will force the steam into the steam container 28, and through the nipples 32 and 33, selected by the connection of their conduits 34 with the boxes.

The use of the steam under pressure of the tion of the steam'when used for treating the hair. After the conduits and boxes have reached the desired degree of heat, the air is cut off, and steam alone is thereafter 'admitted through thevarious conduits to the boxes for the direct hair treatment. YVhen the hair has been subjected to the steam treatment for the desired length of time, the steam generating means is cut off, preventing the further generation of steam, and the valve 26 is gradually opened to admit air under pressure to the conduits and to the boxes to blow ofi the excess steam and at the same time cool the conduits and particularly the boxes. This operation tends to a comparatively rapid cooling of the boxes in order .to shorten the period for the removal of the boxes following proper hair treatment.

It is to be noted that the dome section 5 ofthe-casing is comparatively long and that as a result the steam pipe 10 within this dome is also comparatively long. This provides an extended length in which any excessive moisture in the steam may be permitted to condense and fall directly back into the steam generator. In the steam container, any water of condensation which may result from any cause willcollect in the bottom of the steam container, wholly below the entrance end to the nipples 32 and 33, and flow by gravity through the outlet 30 for discharge, the trap 31 preventing, steam discharge through this outlet.

The auxiliary air pipes 39 may be used by the operator for blowing away from the head of the customer any steam which may leak beyond the boxes, or such auxiliary air pipesmay be directly connected to the boxes for the admission of cool air wholly free of steam directly to the interior of the boxes for the cooling effect and the dissipation of the contained steam therein.

It is to be particularly noted that when the door 7 is open, all parts are accessible for inspection, and that by reason of their arrang-ement any vital part, such as the steam generator, motor or blower, may be readily and conveniently removed for repair or replacement.

'The. construction as a; whole provides a highly ornamental and therefore desirable ac-i cessory of a beauty parlor wherein the hair treatment is usually carried out, it being well understood that the attractive furnishings of such an establishment areordinarily necessary-to a success. Furthermore, the provision of means whereby the water of condensation is positively preventedfrom reaching the head'of the customer is of the utmost importance because such water of condensation, being naturally highly heated, if permitted, through any possible leakage in the boxes, to reach the head of the customer, would, it is evident, prove highly objectionable through its discomfort and liability to a scald or burn. The auxiliary air conduits 39 facilitate the use of cool air alone for selective use to impart. a cooling-sensation to the head of the customer during the steam treatment of thehair.

I claim a 1. A hair treating apparatus including an elongated casing, means for generating steam, a pipe leading to the steam generator to and throughlthe'upper end of the casing, the steam generator being arranged in such relation'tothe top of the casing as to provide a steam pipe of material length within the casing to permit initial drying of the steam from the generator.

"2. A hair treating apparatus including a casing, a steam generator arranged therein, means for controlling the generation of steam insuch generator, asteam pipe leadingto and through the upper end 'o-fthe casing, means arranged in the casing for creating a source of air under pressure, an air pipe leading from such source, and extending to and through the upperend of the casing, that length of the casing above the steam generator being sufficient to induce a drying action on the steam in the pipe between the steam generator and top of the casing, and; means beyond the casing'for minglin the drysteam and air under pressure.

3. A hair treating apparatus including a casing, steam generator therein, means for creating a body of air under pressure arranged in the casing, a steam container supported beyond the casing and open to the steam generator and to the source of air under pressure, means for leading. the combined steam and air from the steam container toa point of use, and means for delivering the water of condensation collecting in saidcontainer for discharge.

4. A hair treating apparatus including a casing, steam generating means therein, air pressure generatingmeans therein, means for selectively mingling the steam-and airunderpressure beyond the casing, a steamlcontainerfor receiving the mingled air and steam, nlpples leadlng from said container for dellvering the air and steam to a point of use,'the mlet end ofthe nippl s be ng ar-: ranged materially above the lower surface of the container, and a water discharge pipe communicatingwith the lowest point of the container. 7 5. A hair treating'apparatus including a casing, steam generating means therein, air

pressure generating means therein, a steam container open to the air under pressure and steam beyond the casing, delivery means from the container, the inlet end'of the delivery means being arranged above the bottom of the container, a water disc'harge'pipe leading from the container, said container being inclined to compel gravital delivery of the water of condensation insaid container to said discharge pipe.

6. A hair treating apparatus including a casing, steam generating means therein, air pressure means therein, a steam pipe section supported by and arrangedbeyond thecasing and communicating with the steam generating means, an air pipe section carried by and arranged beyond the casing and communicating with the air pressure means, a coupling uniting the ends of said pipe sections to commingle the steam andair, a steam delivery means from the container opening into the latter above the lower surface thereof, said container inclining upwardly from the coupling in substantial alignment with the steam pipe.

I. A hair treating apparatus-including a casing, steam generatingmeans therein, a pipe leading from the steam generating means and extending totheupper end of the casing, air pressure creating means in the casing,"a pipe leading from'the air pressure creating means to and through the upperend of the casing, a steam generator supported beyond the casing, and opento the steam pipe and to the air pipe, and conduits extending through the wall of the casing and in open communication with the air pipe therein.

8. A hair treating apparatus including a casing, steam generating means therein, a

pipe leading from the steam generating means and extending to the upper end of the casing,air pressure creating means in the casing, a pipe leading from the air pressure creating means to and through the upper end of the casing, a steam. generator supported beyond the casing, and. open to the steam pipe and to. the air pipe, and conduits extending throughthe wall of the casing and in open communication with the air ipe therein, said conduits beingwholly fiexiblb. f i v In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

' PAUL EDMUND GAIRE. -[L. a],

container having a diameter exceeding that of either pipe section, said steam container being connected to the coupling beyond the connection of the pipe sections thereto,-and: i 

